Happy Birthday this week to:
Aug 31
1918 ● Alan Jay Lerner → Grammy-winning stage, screen and pop music lyricist and librettist, songwriting partner of Frederick Loewe, co-wrote dozens of Broadway shows and movies including Brigadoon (1947), My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960), died from lung cancer on 6/14/1986
1939 ● Jerry Allison → Drummer in rock ‘n’ roll Buddy Holly & The Crickets, “That’ll Be The Day” (#1, 1957), after splitting with Holly became de factor leader of The Crickets, but their success was limited
1940 ● Wilton Felder → Founding member and saxophonist with The Jazz Crusaders (The Crusaders after 1971), “Street Life” (#36, 1979), solo and session work on electric bass
1944 ● Roger Dean → English artist and album cover designer for Asia, Atomic Rooster, Greenslade, Steve Howe, Uriah Heep, Yes and others
1945 ● George Ivan “Van” Morrison → Northern Irish singer, songwriter, musician and poet, started as lead singer for Irish garage rock Them, “Here Comes The Night” (#24, UK #2, 1965), then a long and prolific blue eyed soul/rock solo career, “Brown Eyed Girl” (#10, UK #8, 1967) and over 40 albums plus six Grammy Awards
1948 ● Andy Stein → Classically trained violinist, saxophonist, arranger and composer, started with country-rock/boogie/swing bar band Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (#9, 1972), thereafter in sessions or show bands and recordings with classical greats Itzhak Perlman and Placido Domingo, with pop artists Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and many others, with jazz artists Wynton Marsalis, Manhattan Transfer and multiple others, played with the Prairie Home Companion (PBS-TV) house band for 22 years
1948 ● Rudolf Schenker → Founder (at age 16), rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for German hard rock/metal Scorpions, “Rock You Like A Hurricane” (#25, 1984)
1955 ● Anthony Thistlethwaite → Multi-instrumentalist for Celtic folk-rock The Waterboys, “Fisherman’s Blues” (Modern Rock #3, 1988), sessions, solo
1957 ● Gina Schock → Drummer for New Wave pop-punk girl group The Go-Go’s, “We Got The Beat”, (#2, 1982), the most successful all-female pop and rock band of all time and the only one to play their own instruments and write their own songs
1957 ● Glenn Tilbrook → Songwriter, guitar and vocals for New Wave pop-rock Squeeze, “Tempted” (#49, 1981)
1959 ● Tony DeFranco → Lead singer for teen bubblegum-pop sibling quintet The DeFranco Family, “Heartbeat-It’s A Lovebeat” (#3, 1973)
1961 ● Bruce Guthro → Lead vocals and guitar for Scottish Celtic folk-rock Runrig, “An Ubhal As Airde (The Highest Apple)” (UK #18, 1995)
1963 ● Larry Waddell → Keyboards for new jack swing R&B/soul-pop sextet Mint Condition, “What Kind Of Man Would I Be?” (#17, 1996)
1967 ● Gerard Love → Bassist for Scot pre-grunge, then power pop Teenage Fanclub, “Star Sign” (Mainstream Rock #4, 1991)
1969 ● Jeff Russo → Guitarist for Grammy-nominated alt/roots rock Tonic, “If You Could Only See” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1997)
1970 ● Debbie Gibson → Teen pop singer-songwriter, “Foolish Beat” (#1, 1988) and seven other Top 25 hits in the late 80s, actress
1977 ● Craig Nicholls → Singer, songwriter, guitarist and frontman for Aussie garage rock revival The Vines, “Get Free” (Mainstream Rock #27, 2002)
1977 ● Del Marquis (Derek Gruen) → Guitarist for dance-glam-rock Scissor Sisters, “Filthy Gorgeous” (Dance/Club #1, 2005)
Sep 01
1927 ● Tommy Evans → Bass vocals for R&B/doo wop The Drifters, “Fools Fall In Love” (#69, R&B #10, 1957)
1933 ● Conway Twitty (Harold Lloyd Jenkins) → Early rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and pop singer, “It’s Only Make Believe” (#1, 1958), then 70s and 80s country superstar, “Tight Fittin’ Jeans” (Country #1, 1981) and over 50 other Country #1 hits, died suddenly from an abdominal aneurysm on 6/5/1993
1933 ● Marshall Lytle → Rock ‘n’ roll bass guitarist and member of Bill Haley & His Comets, played bass on all their hits including “Rock Around The Clock” (#1, 1955), left to form Las Vegas lounge act The Jodimars, died from lung cancer on 5/25/2013
1944 ● Archie Bell → Frontman for R&B/Philly soul and funk Archie Bell & The Drells, “Tighten Up” (#1, 1968) and twelve additional R&B Top 40 singles
1945 ● Peter Hewson → Vocals for Brit pop-rock Chicory Tip, “Son Of My Father” (UK #1, 1972), one of the first hit singles to prominently feature a Moog synthesizer
1946 ● Barry Gibb → Vocals and guitar for pop-rock then disco sibling trio The Bee Gees, “Stayin’ Alive” (#1, 1977), as a songwriter wrote or co-wrote dozens of Top 40 hits, including a Number 1 song in each decades from the 60s to the 00s
1946 ● Greg Errico → Drummer for R&B/soul-funk Sly & The Family Stone, “Family Affair” (#1, 1971), toured Weather Report in 1973, played with David Bowie‘s band in 1974, has toured or played with numerous other rock and funk acts, including Santana, the Jerry Garcia Band, Tower of Power, and Journey
1949 ● Russell Field → Guitarist for Brit rock ‘n’ roll revival Showaddywaddy, “Under The Moon Of Love” (UK #1, 1976) and over 20 other UK Top 40 singles
1955 ● Bruce Foxton → Bass, vocals and songwriter for Brit punk-rock/mod revival The Jam, “Town Called Malice” (Mainstream Rock #31, 1982) and the reformed late 80s version of Irish punk rock Stiff Little Fingers
1957 ● Gloria Estefan (nee Fajardo) → Seven-time Grammy-winning Cuban/American singer and songwriter, lead vocals for Latin dance-pop Miami Sound Machine, “Anything For You” (#1, 1988), solo with multiple Top 10 hits, including salsa/disco revival “Oye!” (Dance/Club #1, 1998)
1960 ● Cass Lewis → Bassist for Brit alt rock/metal Skunk Anansie, “All I Want” (UK #14, 1996)
1965 ● Craig McLachlan → Aussie TV actor and pop singer, covered Bo Diddley‘s “Mona” (UK #2, 1990)
1970 ● DJ Spigg Nice → DJ and rapper for gangsta rap The Lost Boyz, “Music Makes Me High” (#51, Dance/Club #3, Rap #5, 1996)
1973 ● J.D. Fortune (Jason Dean Bennison) → Canadian singer and winner of the 2005 CBS reality TV series Rock Star: INXS, since then has fronted Aussie New Wave dance-groove-pop INXS, “Pretty Vegas” (#37, Hot Digital #9, 2005)
1976 ● Babydaddy (Scot Hofman) → Bassist for dance-glam-rock Scissor Sisters, “Filthy Gorgeous” (Dance/Club #1, 2005)
1976 ● Peter Brown → Drummer for post-grunge Wheatus, “Teenage Dirtbag” (Modern Rock #7, 2001)
1984 ● Joseph Mark Trohman → Guitarist for alt rock/punk-pop Fall Out Boy, “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” (#2, 2007)
Sep 02
1925 ● Hugo Montenegro → Composer, arranger and orchestra conductor primarily for film soundtracks, including “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly” (#2, 1968), died 2/6/1981 from emphysema
1925 ● Russ Conway (Trevor Herbert Stanford) → Pop music pianist and composer, instrumental “Side Saddle” (UK #1, 1959) plus 17 other UK Top 40 singles, died 11/16/2000
1933 ● Richard Lewis → Tenor vocals for one hit wonder R&B/doo wop quartet The Silhouettes, “Get A Job” (#1, 1958)
1939 ● Bobby Purify (Robert Lee Dickey) → With cousin James Purify, R&B/Southern soul duo James & Bobby Purify, “I’m Your Puppet” (#6, 1966)
1939 ● Sam Gooden → Vocals for Chicago soul/doo wop The Impressions, “It’s All Right” (#4, 1963)
1940 ● Jimmy Clanton → Swamp pop teen idol singer and songwriter, “Just A Dream” (#4, 1958), continues today on the oldies circuit
1943 ● Joe Simon → R&B and country-pop crossover baritone singer, “The Chokin’ Kind” (#13, R&B #1, 1969) and 33 other R&B Top 40 singles
1943 ● Rosalind “Roz” Ashford-Holmes → Founding member and alto vocalist for Motown R&B/gospel-soul girl group Martha & The Vandellas, “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” (#4, 1963)
1945 ● Marty Grebb → Keyboards for Chicago-based pop-horn-rock The Buckinghams, “Kind Of A Drag” (#1, 1967)
1946 ● Billy Preston → Child prodigy pianist and Grammy-winning R&B/soul-funk keyboardist, singer and songwriter, “Will It Go Round In Circles” (#1, 1972), session musician, played on The Beatles‘ Let It Be Album, died 6/6/2006 after seven months in a coma following a pericarditis attack
1951 ● Michael “Mik” Kaminski → Violinist for pop-rock Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t Bring Me Down” (#4, 1979) and 26 other Top 40 hits, later co-founded one hit wonder pop Violinski, “Clog Dance” (UK #17, 1979)
1952 ● Fritz McIntyre → Keyboards for Brit soul-pop Simply Red, “Holding Back The Years” (#1, 1986)
1957 ● Steve Porcaro → Founding member, keyboards and songwriter for pop/arena rock Toto, “Africa” (#1, 1982), younger brother of bandmates Jeff and Mike Porcaro
1958 ● Jerome Stanley “Jerry” Augustyniak → Drummer for folk-pop 10,000 Maniacs, “These Are Days” (Alt-Rock #1, 1992)
1959 ● Paul Deakin → Drummer for Grammy-winning country-rock The Mavericks, “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” (Country #13, 1996)
1969 ● Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey → With brother Joel, vocals in R&B/electro-dance “bad boy” quartet Jodeci, “Lately” (#4, 1993), left with Joel to form romantic soul duo K-Ci & JoJo, “All My Life” (#1, 1998)
1975 ● Tony Thompson → Lead vocalist for R&B/New Jack Swing quintet Hi-Five, “I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)” (#1, 1991), died on 6/1/2007 after accidentally inhaling Freon from an air conditioning unit
1987 ● Spencer James Smith → Drummer for alt rock/pop punk quartet Panic! At The Disco, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” (#7, 2006)
Sep 03
1915 ● Memphis Slim (John Peter Chatman) → Jump blues pianist, singer, composer and bandleader, his blues standard “Everyday I Have The Blues ” (1949) has been a Billboard R&B Chart Top 10 single for four other artists, including B. B. King, died 2/24/1988 from renal failure
1918 ● Donna King (Donna Olivia Driggs Conkling) → Vocalist for complex and sophisticated four-part harmony 30s, 40s and 50s Big Band/pop sibling singing group The King Sisters, “The Hut-Sut Song” (Top 30, 1944), recorded with her sisters on hundreds of albums and numerous radio specials over three decades and in the musical-variety TV program The King Family Show (1966-1969) and holiday specials thereafter, died from natural causes on 6/20/2007
1934 ● Freddie King → Nicknamed the “Texas Cannonball”, electric blues legendary guitarist and singer, “Hide Away” (#29, 1961), died 12/28/1976 from heart failure
1940 ● George Francis “Shadow” Morton → Record producer, songwriter and manager loosely credited with creating the “girl group” sound in the 60s for his pioneering work with then-unknown the Shangri-Las, “Leader Of The Pack” (#1, 1964), also worked with Janis Ian (“Society’s Child,” #14, 1967) and produced several albums for psych-rock Vanilla Fudge (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” #1, 1966) and The New York Dolls, among others, died 2/14/2013 from cancer
1942 ● Al Jardine → Founding member, guitarist and occasional lead vocals for surf-pop-rock The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations” (#1, 1966), solo
1942 ● Mike Harrison → Lead singer for British Invasion blues-rock The V.I.P.’s, then hard rock/blues rock Art and later Spooky Tooth, solo
1943 ● Michael Anthony “Mick” Farren → Anti-establishment singer, songwriter, journalist, rock music critic and historian, bandleader for proto-punk/acid rock The Deviants and three albums, issued two solo albums, including Vampires Stole My Lunch Money (1978) and several singles, including “Broken Statue” (1978), died on 7/27/2013 following a heart attack
1945 ● George Biondo → Bass and vocals for Canadian-American hard rock, proto-metal Steppenwolf, “Born To Be Wild” (#2, 1968)
1947 ● Eric Bell → Founding member and original guitarist for underrated Irish hard rock Thin Lizzy, “The Boys Are Back In Town” (#12, 1976), frontman for the Eric Bell Band
1947 ● Kenny Pickett → Pop music songwriter and original lead vocalist for underappreciated and little known (except in Germany) Britbeat/power pop The Creation, “Painter Man” (UK #36, GER #8, 1967), after the band’s dissolution continued as a songwriter and became Jimmy Page‘s guitar technician, issued several solo albums and enjoyed a career resurgence in the 90s, died on 1/10/1997
1948 ● Don Brewer → Founding member and drummer for hard rock/early heavy metal power trio Grand Funk Railroad, “We’re An American Band” (#1, 1973)
1950 ● Doug “dUg” Pinnick → Bass guitar, songwriting and vocals for progressive metal/Christian rock King’s X, “It’s Love” (Mainstream Rock #6, 1990)
1952 ● Leroy Smith → Keyboardist for Philly-style Brit R&B/soul Sweet Sensation, “Sad Sweet Dreamer” (US#14, UK#1, 1975)
1955 ● Steve Jones → Guitarist for premier punk rockers the Sex Pistols, “God Save The Queen” (UK #2, 1977), later The Professionals and Neurotic Outsiders, solo plus collaborations and sessions for Thin Lizzy, Joan Jett, Megadeath and others
1957 ● Suzanne Freitag → Keyboards for German synth-pop Propaganda, “p.Machinery” (Dance/Club #10, 1986)
1960 ● Perry Bamonte → Former keyboardist and songwriter for post-punk art-glam-goth rock The Cure, “Friday I’m In Love” (Modern Rock #1, 1992), left in 2005 after being fired inexplicably and now plays bass in London-based rock band Love Amongst Ruin
1962 ● Lester Noel → Vocals for Brit electronic dance-pop Beats International, “Dub Be Good To Me” (Dance/Club #1, UK #1, 1990)
1963 ● Jonathan Segel → French-born multi-instrumentalist and composer for eclectic alt rock pop-ska-punk-folk fusion Camper Van Beethoven, “Take The Skinheads Bowling” (1985) and others
1965 ● Vaden Todd Lewis → Vocals and guitar for post-grunge alt rock Toadies, “Possum Kingdom” (Modern Rock #4, 1995) and Burden Brothers, “Beautiful Night” (Mainstream Rock #33, 2004)
1971 ● Mike Wengren → Drummer for Chicago-based heavy metal Disturbed, “Another Way To Die” (Mainstream Rock #1, 2010)
1973 ● David Mead → Light pop-rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Girl On The Roof” (2001)
1973 ● Jennifer Paige → One hit wonder dance-pop diva, “Crush” (#3, 1998)
1979 ● Tomislav “Tomo” Milichevich Sarajevo → Lead guitarist for indie pop-rock 30 Seconds To Mars, “From Yesterday” (Alt Rock #1, 2006)
1980 ● Jay “Cone” McCaslin → Bassist for Canadian indie punk-pop Sum 41, “We’re All To Blame” (Mainstream Rock #36, 2004)
1984 ● Robert Curry → Singer with pre-fab contemporary R&B quintet Day26, “Got Me Going” (#79, 2008), the group was formed at the conclusion of the TV show Making the Band 4 on August 26, 2007
Sep 04
1942 ● Merald “Bubba” Knight, Jr. → Brother of Gladys Knight, vocals and de facto leader and manager of R&B/soul-pop Gladys Knight & The Pips, “Midnight Train To Georgia” (#1, 1973)
1945 ● Danny Gatton → Grammy-nominated virtuoso rockabilly-rooted session guitarist who blended country, jazz, pop and rock to create a distinctive style, frontman for country-rock the Fat Boys, Rolling Stone magazine’s #63 greatest guitarist of all time, died from an unexplained, self-inflicted gunshot wound in his garage on 10/4/1994
1946 ● Gary Duncan (Gary Ray Grubb) → Lead guitar for psychedelic folk-rock Quicksilver Messenger Service, “Fresh Air” (#49, 1970), formed and fronted Quicksilver in the 80s and rejoined QMS in the 00s
1946 ● Greg Elmore → Drummer for psychedelic folk-rock Quicksilver Messenger Service, “Fresh Air” (#49, 1970)
1950 ● Ronald LaPread → Bass and vocals for Grammy-winning Motown R&B/soul-funk Commodores, “Three Times A Lady” (#1, 1978)
1951 ● Martin Chambers → Drummer for post-punk New Wave hard pop-rock The Pretenders, “Back On The Chain Gang” (#5, 1982)
1960 ● Kim Thayil → Guitarist for seminal grunge-rock group Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun” (Mainstream Rock #1,1994)
1969 ● Sasha (Alexander Coe) → Welsh electronic dance-pop/house music producer and DJ, “Be As One” (UK #17, 1996), remixed tracks for Madonna and The Chemical Brothers, among others
1970 ● Igor Cavalera → Original drummer in Brazilian heavy metal/thrash metal Sepultura, “Roots Bloody Roots” (UK #19, 1996)
1971 ● Ty Longley → Guitarist and songwriter for hard rock/heavy metal Great White, “Once Bitten Twice Shy” (#5, 1989), died along with 100 fans in a Rhode Island night club fire in 2/20/2003
1972 ● Guto Pryce → Bassist for Welsh electro-psych rock Super Furry Animals, “Northern Lites” (UK #11, 1999)
1974 ● Carmit Bachar → Vocals for burlesque dance-pop girl troupe The Pussycat Dolls, “Don’t Cha” (#2, 2005)
1975 ● Mark Ronson → Brit music producer, DJ, guitarist, co-founder of Allido Records and frontman for Business Intl., “International Affair” (Rhythmic Top 40 #21, 2003), produced albums for Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse and others
1977 ● Ian Grushka → Founding member and bassist for pop-punk New Found Glory, “My Friends Over You” (Alt Rock #5, 2002)
1980 ● Dan Miller → Vocals for pre-fab teen idol boy-band O-Town, “All Or Nothing” (#3, 2001)
1981 ● Beyoncé Giselle Knowles → Lead vocals for R&B/dance-pop girl group Destiny’s Child, “Say My Name” (#1, 2000), then 14 Grammy-winning solo career, “Crazy In Love” (#1, 2003), actress and fashion designer
Sep 05
1936 ● Willie Woods → Guitarist and backing vocalist for R&B/pop-soul Junior Walker & The All Stars, “Shotgun” (#4, 1965) and eleven other Top 40 hits, died of lung cancer on 27th May 1997.
1939 ● John Stewart → Singer, songwriter and guitarist for definitive folk-pop The Kingston Trio, “Tom Dooley” (#1, 1958) and nine other Top 40 hits, solo, “Gold” (#5, 1979), wrote “Daydream Believer” for The Monkees (#1, 1967), died from a brain aneurism on 1/19/2008
1941 ● Joe Long (Joseph LaBracio) → Classically-trained bassist best known for playing electric bass guitar for Top 40 pop vocals group The Four Seasons (“Let’s Hang On!,” #3, 1965) between 1965 and the mid-70s when he left to form his own rock and jazz bands
1943 ● Joe “Speedo” Frasier → Lead singer and only black member of racially-integrated R&B/doo wop The Impalas, “Sorry” (I Ran All The Way Home)” (#2, 1959)
1945 ● Al Stewart → Scottish soft rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Year Of The Cat” (#8, 1977)
1946 ● Dean Ford (Thomas McAleese) → Founding member and lead vocals for Scottish pop-rock The Marmalade, “Reflections Of My Life” (#10, 1970)
1946 ● Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara) → Founder and frontman for camp rock/mock-opera/hard pop Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (#9, 1976) and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (#1, 1980), solo, producer, died 11/24/1991 from complications of AIDS
1946 ● Loudon Wainwright III → Folk singer/songwriter, “Dead Skunk” (#16, 1973), won Grammy Award in 2009 for the Best Traditional Folk Album, father of neo-folk singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright
1947 ● George Allen “Buddy” Miles, Jr. → Funk-rock drummer in Wilson Pickett‘s band, then Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield, then Band of Gypsys with Jimi Hendrix, then frontman for the Buddy Miles Express, then solo, “Them Changes” (#62, 1971), then sessions and touring with Santana, Phish and others, died 2/26/2008 of congestive heart disease
1947 ● Melvyn Desmond “Mel” Collins → Brit saxophonist, flutist and session musician, played the sax solo on The Rolling Stones‘ “Miss You” (#1, 1978), also worked with King Crimson, Camel, The Alan Parsons Project, Eric Clapton, Bad Company, Dire Straits, Tears For Fears and many others
1949 ● Dave “Clem” Clempson → Lead guitarist for blues-rock power trio Bakerloo, left in 1969 to join jazz-blues-rock fusion Colosseum, in 1971 succeeded Peter Frampton in blues-rock Humble Pie, “Hot “N’ Nasty” (#52, 1972),sessions and film score work
1954 ● Sal Solo (Christopher Scott Stephens) → Lead vocals for synth-pop new romantic Classix Nouveaux, “Is It A Dream” (UK #11, 1982), then solo career with Christian music
1964 ● Kevin Saunderson → DJ, mixer and producer for Detroit electro-techno/dance-pop duo Inner City, “Big Fun” (Dance-Club #1, 1984)
1966 ● Terry Ellis → Vocals for Grammy-winning female club-dance group En Vogue, “Hold On” (#2, 1990)
1967 ● Arnel Pineda → Filipino-American pop-rock vocalist, co-founded and worked with several local and Southeast Asian bands with regional success, recruited to arena rock Journey in 2007, sang lead vocals on several albums and singles, including the power ballad “After All These Years” (Hot Adult #9, 2008)
1968 ● Brad Wilk → Drummer for Grammy-winning punk/hip hop/thrash metal Rage Against The Machine, “Guerrilla Radio” (Modern Rock #6, 1999) and alt metal Audioslave, “Doesn’t Remind Me” (Mainstream Rock #2, 2005)
1969 ● Dweezil Zappa → Rock guitarist, bandleader, producer, radio/TV host, MTV VJ, movie actor, sessions, son of art rock legend Frank Zappa
1970 ● Steve “Fuzz” Kmak → Former bassist for Chicago-based heavy metal Disturbed, “Another Way To Die” (Mainstream Rock #1, 2010)
1980 ● Kevin Simm → Singer for teen dance-pop Liberty X, “Just A Little” (UK #1, 2002)
Sep 06
1925 ● Mathis James “Jimmy” Reed → Electric blues pioneering guitarist and songwriter, “Big Boss Man” (#78, R&B #13, 1961), influenced Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones and many others, died following an epileptic seizure on 8/29/1976
1938 ● Henry Diltz → Folk musician and photographer, played with the Modern Folk Quartet in the early 60s, did session work with The Monkees and took numerous publicity shots for them and other bands, became the official photographer at Woodstock and has provided the cover shots to over 75 rock albums, co-founded the Morrison Hotel Galleries of rock art and photography in New York and L.A.
1939 ● David Allan Coe → Outlaw country and country-rock singer/songwriter, “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile” (Country #2, 1984)
1940 ● Jackie Trent (Yvonne Burgess) → English singer, songwriter and actress, “Where Are You Now (My Love)” (UK #1, 1965), with husband Tony Hatch co-wrote songs for Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Dean Martin and others
1942 ● Dave Bargeron → Trombone and tuba for jazz-rock/pop-rock fusion band Blood, Sweat & Tears, “Spinning Wheel” (#2, 1969), has played with the Gil Evans Orchestra since 1972
1943 ● Roger Waters → Founding member, bass, vocals and principal songwriter of space rock Pink Floyd, “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” (#1, 1979), left in 1985 for solo career, “What God Wants, Pt. 1″ (Mainstream Rock #4, 1992), rejoined the band in 2005 for a one-off concert in London
1947 ● Sylvester James → R&B/soul-disco singer and drag queen performer, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (#36, UK #8, 1978), died on 12/16/1988 from complications of AIDS
1948 ● Claydes Charles Smith → Co-founder and lead guitarist of jazz-fusion then R&B/funk Kool & The Gang, “Jungle Boogie” (#4, 1973), died 6/20/2006 after a long illness
1954 ● Stella Barker → Rhythm guitar for Brit all female ska/pop-rock The Belle Stars, “Sign Of The Times” (UK #3, 1983) and “Iko Iko” (#14, 1989)
1958 ● Buster Bloodvessel (Douglas Trendle) → Silly stage antic performing, bald and outsized frontman and lead vocalist for ska revival Bad Manners, “Can Can” (UK #3, 1981)
1961 ● Colin Ferguson → Bassist for Scottish synth-pop New Romantic quartet H2O, “Dream To Sleep” (UK #17, 1983)
1961 ● Pal Waaktaar (Gamst) → Guitarist for Norwegian synth-poppers A-Ha, “Take On Me” (#1, 1985), the first band from Norway to score a #1 hit in the UK and US
1961 ● Scott Travis → Drummer with speed metal Racer X, joined influential “New Wave” heavy metal band Judas Priest, “A Touch Of Evil” (Mainstream Rock #29, 1990) in 1989
1965 ● Trevor Bickers → Lead guitarist for Brit indie psych-rock The House Of Love, “Shine On” (UK#20, 1990)
1967 ● William DuVal → Singer, guitarist and songwriter for hard rock Madfly, which morphed into Comes With The Fall, joined alterna-metal/hard rock Alice In Chains in 2006, “Check My Brain” (Rock #1, 2009)
1969 ● Cecelia “Ce Ce” Peniston → Dance-pop/disco diva, “Finally” (#5, 1991)
1969 ● Paddy Bloom (Patrick Seacor) → Drummer for dance-glam-rock Scissor Sisters, “Filthy Gorgeous” (Dance/Club #1, 2005)
1970 ● April “Cheyne” Coates → Australian singer in dance-pop duo Madison Avenue, “Don’t Call Me Baby” (Dance/Club #1, 2000)
1971 ● Dolores O’Riordan → Lead vocals for Irish jangle/dream pop-rock The Cranberries, “Linger” (#8, 1993)
1973 ● Anika Noni Rose → Tony Award-winning American singer and actress in the motion picture roman à clef musical Dreamgirls (2006)
1974 ● Nina Persson → Vocals for Swedish pop-rock The Cardigans, “Lovefool” (#1, 1996)
1979 ● Foxy Brown (Inga Marchand) → Member of overhyped hip hop music group The Firm, then solo rapper, “Hot Spot” (Rap #23, 1999)
1980 ● Kerry Katona → Vocals for Brit dance-pop vocal trio Atomic Kitten, “Whole Again” (UK #1, 2000), left the group in 2001 for a career as a TV host
